The door closed gently, leaving only the six of them in the room.
The furnishings in the room were simple and elegant, everything quiet and peaceful, forming a cruel and jarring contrast to the apocalyptic scene outside the window.
Xu Xiaoyan walked slowly to the window, resting her hands on the cold window frame, staring blankly at Shrek City outside, which had once been incomparably prosperous but now was mostly reduced to nothingness.
Tears slid silently from her eyes, her voice choked and hoarse, murmuring as if to herself: "It's all gone. How many people are going to die from this?"
Tang Wulin stood not far behind her, his hands clenched into fists so tightly that his nails dug deep into his palms, blood seeping from between his fingers, yet he felt nothing.
This youth, usually sunny and cheerful, never easily angered, now had a face as cold as Ten Thousand Years of cold iron.
He spoke, every word enunciated clearly: "Holy Spirit Cult, Evil Soul Master, I will definitely uproot you all with my own hands in the future!"
"Count me in!"
Xie Xie walked to Tang Wulin's side and raised his hand to pat his shoulder heavily.
This youth, usually sloppy and talkative, no longer had his habitual playfulness or cynicism on his face; in those usually lazy eyes burned an unprecedented hatred and determination.
Na'er stood a little further away, Yun Ming's figure echoing repeatedly in her mind.
After a moment of silence, she also spoke slowly: "We still need to improve our strength; without sufficient strength, everything is just vanity."
Huo Yuhao watched his companions' righteous indignation, remaining silent from start to finish.
His gaze swept calmly over every face filled with anger and sorrow, but he was thinking more and further than them.
Shrek Academy, which had traversed the continent for Ten Thousand Years, was gone just like that. This was by no means just the loss of an academy; the situation on the continent was likely to undergo earth-shattering changes.
And...
When Leng Yaozhu left just now, the expression on her cold, beautiful face was a coldness he had never seen before, as if she were going to settle scores with someone.
...
"Bang!"
The heavy office door of Qiangu Dongfeng, intricately carved from a single piece of century-old ebony, was kicked open violently by Leng Yaozhu from the outside.
The door panel slammed heavily against the wall, emitting a muffled sound of unbearable strain.
Leng Yaozhu's cold, stunning face seemed to be shrouded in a layer of frost that had not melted for Ten Thousand Years, and the cold aura radiating from her body caused the surrounding air temperature to drop by several degrees.
Behind her, two Spirit Pagoda staff members followed, jogging in a panic.
As they chased, they tried in vain to block her, their voices filled with unconcealable fear and anxiety.
"Vice Tower Master Leng, you cannot enter!"
"Vice Tower Master Leng, please calm down..."
Leng Yaozhu turned a deaf ear. Standing at the office entrance, her gaze, like an ice-quenched blade, pierced straight at the handsome middle-aged man sitting behind the desk.
Qiangu Dongfeng sat in that large leather office chair, raised his eyes, swept a blank glance at the two panicked people behind Leng Yaozhu, and waved his hand lightly.
The two staff members, as if relieved of a heavy burden, hurriedly bowed and backed out of the office, carefully closing the already precarious door.
Only Leng Yaozhu and Qiangu Dongfeng remained in the room, the air filled with a suffocating silence intertwined with the smell of gunpowder.
Qiangu Dongfeng leaned back in his chair, hands folded on the desktop, and asked in a calm tone: "Yaozhu, what is it that made you rush over?"
Leng Yaozhu walked to the desk in a few steps, raised her right hand, and slapped the desktop heavily.
With a loud "Bang", the teacup on the table shook violently.
She leaned forward slightly, looking down at Qiangu Dongfeng sitting in the chair, her voice as cold as a freezing wind squeezed from under a ten thousand year ice sheet.
"Qiangu Dongfeng, don't pretend to be ignorant."
"Do you dare to say that you know nothing about the Holy Spirit Cult's attack on Shrek Academy?"
Qiangu Dongfeng's face sank slightly, his tone carrying a hint of reproach: "Yaozhu, you are the Vice Tower Master of the Spirit Pagoda. You should prioritize the interests of the Spirit Pagoda in everything. How can you side with outsiders? Are you here to hold Shrek Academy accountable?"
"Besides, colluding with the Holy Spirit Cult is not something you can just talk about casually."
"As the Tower Master of the Spirit Pagoda, how could I do such a thing?"
"If this gets out, it is not only a slander against me personally, but also a smear on the entire Spirit Pagoda. You should think clearly before you speak."
Leng Yaozhu sneered, her face full of undisguised sarcasm and chill.
She rested her hands on the desk, leaning forward slightly, those long, narrow Phoenix eyes looking down at Qiangu Dongfeng, her gaze sharp as if to dissect the other person from the inside out to see through them.
"Hmph, you've really distanced yourself cleanly, haven't you? Do you think I don't know your thoughts?"
"You are jealous of Yun Ming, jealous of his strength, jealous of his reputation, jealous of his status as the number one person on the continent."
"So you colluded with the Holy Spirit Cult and secretly transported those Fixed-Mount Soul-Guided Shells into the city..."
Before Leng Yaozhu could finish speaking, she was cut off by Qiangu Dongfeng's stern shout.
"Nonsense!"
He stood up abruptly from his office chair, a clear look of anger finally appearing on his usually composed face.
"Yaozhu, you think too little of me, Qiangu Dongfeng, to think that."
"I admit that in terms of strength, I am not as good as Yun Ming, but I am not jealous enough of him to collude with those Evil Soul Masters from the Holy Spirit Cult!"
"You keep saying I colluded with the Holy Spirit Cult. Where is the evidence?"
"Breaking into the Tower Master's office and pointing at my nose to question me without evidence, is this the conduct that a Vice Tower Master should have?"
Looking at Qiangu Dongfeng's righteous and impassioned appearance, Leng Yaozhu was completely unmoved. The anger in those Phoenix eyes not only did not extinguish but burned even more fiercely.
She straightened up slowly, moved her hands away from the desktop, and her voice became two degrees colder: "Not just Yun Ming, but also Gu Yue and Huo Yuhao!"
"You knew they were both at Shrek Academy today, so you chose to launch the attack today, right?"
"You wanted to use the hands of the Holy Spirit Cult to eliminate these two geniuses who do not belong to your Qiangu lineage, so that your grandson, Qiangu Zhangting, could smoothly succeed as the next Tower Master, right?"
Facing Leng Yaozhu's successive stabs at the key points, Qiangu Dongfeng's expression remained without a hint of panic, only frowning slightly, his lips moving as if he wanted to retort.
However, before he could make a sound, Leng Yaozhu had already preempted him and continued: "Your wishful thinking is quite good. Shrek Academy is destroyed, Yun Ming has fallen, and these two eyesores, Huo Yuhao and Gu Yue, have disappeared together, ensuring your Qiangu lineage's status in the Spirit Pagoda is secure."
"Unfortunately, heaven does not follow one's wishes. My two Disciples have tough lives and survived unharmed."
"Your plan is destined not to be fully realized."
When she said this, Leng Yaozhu's gaze was locked tightly on Qiangu Dongfeng's face, not missing any slight change in his expression.
Sure enough, the moment she finished speaking, she clearly captured the subtle change that flashed deep in Qiangu Dongfeng's eyes.
Leng Yaozhu did not say anything more. She knew that Qiangu Dongfeng would never admit to this.
With this person's city-depth and means, without ironclad evidence, he would never reveal any flaws.
Her trip today was not to force him to confess, but to let him know that she, Leng Yaozhu, was already watching him.
She turned around decisively, her white dress drawing a sharp arc in the air. When she walked to the door with big strides, her footsteps suddenly paused.
Leng Yaozhu turned her head slightly, glancing coldly at Qiangu Dongfeng one last time from the corner of her eye, her voice calm but carrying a warning: "Qiangu Dongfeng, keep pretending. You'd better pray that I don't catch you."
"Also, if anything happens to Gu Yue and Huo Yuhao again, no matter who makes a move, I will only come for you!"
After saying this, Leng Yaozhu pulled open the door and walked out without looking back.
"Bang!!!"
The door closed heavily behind her, emitting a dull, loud sound that made the entire wall tremble slightly.
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A/N:
I hope all of you are enjoying this story so far. I would appreciate some Power Stones if you can spare any. Leave a review if you like the story. Thank you.